Pets At Home is set to become the biggest chain of vets in the UK as part of
the retailer’s expansion plans.

The company, owned by private equity house KKR, is already the biggest pet shop chain in the UK but will this year become the biggest operator of veterinary practices as it opens in-store locations and stand-alone entities.

Nick Wood, chief executive, said that Pets At Home will open “as many [vets] as the market can stand” as he unveiled a rise in the company’s annual sales.

Pets At Home has 345 stores and 209 vet practices, with 125 in store. In the next year, it plans to open 32 stores, with vets in as many as 28. The practices will be branded as Vets4Pets after Pets At Home bought the veterinary business earlier this year.

In the year to March 28, Pets At Home saw like-for-like sales increase 2.2pc and total sales 9.9pc to £598.3m. This meant that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 9.8pc to £100.8m.

The growth of Pets At Home has allowed KKR to take a £135m dividend out of the business. KKR bought Pets At Home for £955m from Bridgepoint and financed the dividend through a refinancing of Pets At Home.

The pets retailer is loss-making at a pre-tax level because of interest payments on its debt. In 2012, pre-tax losses hit £58m, but the company has not disclosed the figure for the last financial year.

Mr Wood, who replaced Halfords-bound Matt Davies as chief executive last year, said KKR is “pretty comfortable” with the performance of Pets At Home and has no plans to sell the business.

In regard to potential international expansion, he said: “We will consider it at the right point but this is not the right point.”

Mr Wood said: “Market conditions remain challenging with disposable incomes under pressure for many of our customers. Against this backdrop we remain committed to delivering fantastic value as well as exceptional service to our customers through new stores and trading formats, new product innovation, and the engagement and knowledge of truly committed colleagues throughout the business.”